BJP transforming secular India into 'Fascistic' Hindu Rashtra: Yechury

Maintaining that the President's address to a joint session of Parliament tried to cover everything, except the major issues before the country, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday said what is happening in the country is a clear indication of the "government's desperation to transform the secular democratic Indian Republic into the RSS version of a Fascistic Hindu Rashtra".

"There was no mention of what has happened at Hyderabad Central University; there was no mention of student's suicide; no question of JNU; and about sedition and how that has been blatantly misused as a provision to attack the students and institutes of higher education. There is no mention of Haryana, and what is happening in the country.... and major issues in which people are involved," he said.

"In all the places, the control of the institutes of higher education to replace the teaching of history and research in our country from reflecting the syncretic history and evolution of Indian people to replace history with Hindu mythology. That is their objective. Replace history by Hindu mythology; replace Indian philosophy with Hindu theology," he alleged.

Stating that this is the ideological foundation they required for the Hindu Rashtra, he said, "For this, they are going to the extent of actually harassing and intimidating students and the university community; using their lawyers to beat up the students and the media; and manufacturing evidences."

"The extent to which they are going to today is a clear indication of the government's desperation in order to achieve their real agenda that of transforming the secular democratic Indian Republic into the RSS version of a Fascistic Hindu Rashtra. That is their objective and they are relentlessly going on with it," he allegd.

Terming the present situation "worst than Emergency", Yechury said: "There is a creeping authoritarianism, which is showing tendencies of being worst than the period of internal emergency.